This site has been inspired by the work of Dr David Korten who argues that capitalism is at a critical juncture due to environmental, economic and social breakdown. This site argues for alternatives to capitalism in order to create a better world.

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Monday, March 17, 2014

Dead Bees - Everywhere

This could be huge: a global retailer might be about to pull bee-killing pesticides from its shelves.

If others join, this could be a decisive victory for the bees.

Bees are dying off in their millions around the world, including 37
million (!) on a single North American farm last season.

After years of
research, scientists finally know the cause.

"Neonics" - deadly
pesticides produced by Bayer and other chemical giants. But while the bees are dying, corporations around the world are still selling these bee-killing pesticides.

That's why a global retailer breaking ranks could be a game changer.
If they stop carrying the pesticides, it could start a snowball effect
and stop bee-killing pesticides for good.

But we know the big
corporations that profit from these deadly pesticides are fighting back.
Bayer is already spending a pile of cash on a huge "bee care tour"
designed to buy the trust of retailers and small businesses with false
information.

We can't allow the pesticide industry to be the only voice
in the room when retailers decide whether to stop selling bee-killers.

Many of the largest companies are just weeks or months away from their
annual shareholder meetings - and we need to make sure they hear our
message there.

That's why we want to fund activist beekeepers
who've been watching their bees die for years to take their message
directly to the shareholders, and raise a storm outside the meetings too.

Only recently, the giant US retailers Home Deport and Lowe’s were
found to be selling so-called ‘bee-friendly’ plants that were actually
laced with neonics! It’s almost unbelievable.

But as long as
retailers like Home Depot in the US and Canada, or Bunnings in Australia
won’t remove neonics from their shelves, then the world’s bee
population is still at risk.

We know that consumer pressure on retailers works.
Before Europe’s partial ban on neonics, there was a huge movement that
pushed some of the biggest retailers on the continent to voluntarily
remove neonics from their shelves.

If we can make sure that other retailers in Canada, the US, Australia and elsewhere pledge to stop selling neonics then we can halt the sale of these deadly pesticides.

The voices of the beekeepers is powerful - and that's why these companies and their shareholders need to hear from the beekeepers.

Last year, after thousands of SumOfUs members chipped in, our activist
beekeepers traveled to Chicago and took their message directly to
independent garden store owners at the world's largest gardening
convention - singing up dozens to our campaign.

The fight to save our bees has made some big steps. But Bayer and
other pesticide giants aren’t taking this lying down. Now, we need to
take the battle to those retailers that are still selling neonics. If we
can stop the flow of cash, then we’re one step closer to protecting our
bees.